QUEBEC CITY - President Trump told foreign leaders at the Group of Seven summit that they must dramatically reduce trade barriers with the United States or they would risk losing access to the world’s largest economy, delivering his most defiant trade threat yet to his counterparts from around the globe.

Trump, in a news conference before leaving for Singapore, described private conversations he held over two days with the leaders of Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and Canada. He said he pushed them to consider removing every single tariff or trade barrier on American goods, and in return he would do the same. But if steps aren’t taken, he said, the penalties would be severe.

“We’re the piggy bank that everybody is robbing,” Trump said. “And that ends.”

The U.S. leader said his dealings with others leaders were cordial, and he repeatedly blamed past U.S. leaders for the current trade imbalance rather than other nations he said were savvy to take a good deal when they found one.

Trump repeated his view that Russia should be readmitted despite its annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea four years ago.

The leaders discussed the question of Russia’s inclusion in the group but reached no conclusion, Trump said.

“We didn’t do votes or anything, but it has been discussed,” he said.

Trump first referred to the Crimean annexation, which led to the G-7 disinviting Russia, only obliquely.

“Something happened awhile ago where Russia is no longer in,” he said. “I think it would be good to have Russia back in.”

“We’re looking for peace in the world. We’re not looking to play games,” Trump added.

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Russia is a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council and plays a significant role in international security issues. Trump is not the first politician to make the real politik argument that Russia belongs at the G-7 table, but his position is a complete turnabout from the Obama administration, which condemned the 2014 Russian annexation from Ukraine and imposed sanctions on Russia in punishment.

“Crimea was let go during the Obama administration and you know Obama can say all he wants, but he allowed Russia to take Crimea. I might have had a very different” response, Trump said.

Trump’s pitch that world leaders eliminate all tariffs – or else – was his latest attempt to reorder the global trading system, which he says is stacked unfairly against the United States. The two-day summit here was intended to cool tensions between Trump and other world leaders, but as they departed on Saturday it became clear that many are still searching for answers and also searching for ways to deal with the unpredictable U.S. leader.

For example, on Friday evening, the White House issued a statement saying Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau were very close to a deal to rework the North American Free Trade Agreement.

But during his comments on Saturday morning, Trump said there were still a number of different ways the NAFTA talks could play out, including the possibility of doing separate deals with Mexico and Canada, effectively cleaving the 20-year agreement in two.

“It was not contentious,” Trump said. “What was strong was the language that this cannot go on, but the relationships are very good.”

Trump gave a much different account of the talks during the two day summit as other officials. Canadians, for example, said Trudeau pushed back firmly on Trump’s imposition of tariffs on steel and aluminum imports. But Trump made it sound like other countries acknowledged that they were cheating the U.S. in these trade deals and he had finally caught them in the act.

“The European Union is brutal to the United States and they know it,” Trump said, adding that other leaders acknowledge as much in private.

“It’s like the gig is up,” he said. “They can’t believe they got away with it.”

European officials described a much different interaction and have made no public moves to back down from threats of retaliation against Trump’s tariffs. They plan to impose new barriers of their own.

As for Trump’s proposal to eliminate all tariffs, Trump said it was other clear how other countries would respond.

“I did suggest it,” Trump said. “I guess they are going to go back to the drawing board and check it out.”